Skateboard with grinding roller

ABSTRACT

A skateboard has one or more rollers on a bottom region of the body of the board, disposed between the front and rear trucks thereof. The roller(s) may be disposed longitudinally along the length of the board, generally parallel to a normal direction of travel of the board. However, in some embodiments, the angle of the rollers may be adjustable or fixed in a direction offset from parallel by from about 1 to about 45 degrees, typically between 1 and 15 degrees. The rollers may extend from the bottom of the board, or may be partially embedded in an indentation formed in the bottom of the board. The roller(s) may be solid, cylindrical, tapered or composed of a plurality of smaller rollers in a row, for example.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patentapplication No. 62/115,083, filed Feb. 11, 2015, the contents of whichare herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to skateboards and, more particularly, toa skateboard having one or more grinding rollers disposed on a bottomside of the skateboard between the front and rear trucks thereof.

Skateboards are designed typically with a solid board disposed between afront wheel, or set of wheels (referred to as the front truck) and arear wheel, or set of wheels (referred to as the rear truck). The frontand rear trucks often include a pair of wheels, however, in someembodiments, the front and rear trucks may be formed with a single wheeleach. Often such boards are referred to as an inline skateboard.

The solid board often extends from forward of the front truck torearward of the rear truck. The solid board is often formed as a singlepiece. However, in some embodiments, the solid board (the body of theskateboard) may be formed as a first piece over the front truck and asecond piece over the rear truck. A connection can be made between thesetwo pieces. Often, this connection may be a flexible connection.

Skateboarders often perform various tricks on their boards. Over time,skateboards have been modified to permit different maneuvers ormodifications of such maneuvers. Such maneuvers can include a grindingmaneuver, where the bottom of the board, between the front and reartrucks, is slid along a surface, such as a rail or the like. Thismaneuver, however, may damage the bottom of the board, or, the frictionbetween the bottom of the board and the surface may create sufficientfriction to limit such maneuvers

As can be seen, there is a need for a skateboard having an improveddesign to permit various maneuvers to be performed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention, a skateboard comprisesa board member; front and rear trucks attached to a bottom side of theboard member; at least one wheel disposed on each of the front and reartrucks, the at least one wheel adapted to move the board member in afirst direction, the first direction generally along a longitudinal axisof the board member; and at least one roller disposed between the frontand rear trucks, the at least one roller having an axis of rotationdisposed at an angle to the first direction, the angle being from about75 to about 105 degrees.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a skateboardcomprises a board member; front and rear trucks attached to a bottomside of the board member; at least one wheel disposed on each of thefront and rear trucks, the at least one wheel adapted to move the boardmember in a first direction, the first direction generally along alongitudinal axis of the board member; at least one roller disposedbetween the front and rear trucks, the at least one roller having anaxis of rotation disposed generally orthogonal to the first direction;brakes disposed on the bottom side of the board member; and skid platesdisposed at opposite ends of the at least one roller.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a bottom view of a skateboard having a roller disposed on abottom surface thereof, according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the skateboard of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the skateboard of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of a skateboard having an adjustable angleroller disposed on a bottom surface thereof, according to anotherexemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a bottom perspective view of a skateboard having a doubleroller disposed along a bottom surface thereof, according to anotherexemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a detailed view of the skateboard of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing the attachment of oneroller to a roller bracket according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 8 is a detailed view of a portion of a skateboard, illustrating analternate method for attaching a roller to the underside of askateboard;

FIG. 9 is a side view of a tapered roller according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 10 is a side view of a roller comprising a series of rollersaligned in a row according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplatedmodes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the invention. Thedescription is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merelyfor the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention,since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.

Broadly, an embodiment of the present invention provides a skateboardhaving one or more rollers on a bottom region of the body of the board,disposed between the front and rear trucks thereof. The roller(s) may bedisposed longitudinally along the length of the board, generallyparallel to a normal direction of travel of the board. However, in someembodiments, the angle of the rollers may be adjustable or fixed in adirection offset from parallel by from about 1 to about 45 degrees,typically between 1 and 15 degrees. The rollers may extend from thebottom of the board, or may be partially embedded in an indentationformed in the bottom of the board. The roller(s) may be solid,cylindrical, tapered or composed of a plurality of smaller rollers in arow, for example.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 through 3, a skateboard may include a boardmember 10 and trucks 12. As discussed above the trucks 12 may be frontand rear trucks having wheels 14 on each side thereof. The board member10 may be aligned to extend beyond the front and rear trucks 12. Theboard member 10 may move longitudinally as the wheels 14 turn. This isreferred to as forward or normal motion of the skateboard. The trucks 12may have two wheels 14, as shown in the Figures, or may have a singlewheel on each of the forward and rear trucks 12 (also referred to as aninline skateboard). Other truck designs, as may be known in the art, maybe used within the scope of the present invention.

The board member 10 may be formed from one or more solid members. Forexample, a single board member 10 may be used as shown in the Figures.However, a front board member and a rear board member may be connectedby a joining member, as may be known in the art. In some embodiments,this joining member may incorporate a roller 16, as described below,therewithin.

Regardless of wheel and truck design, the roller 16 may be disposedbetween the front and rear trucks 12, where an axis of rotation of theroller 16 may be parallel or substantially parallel to the forward ornormal motion of the skateboard. The roller 16 may be offset fromparallel by a certain degree, depending upon the requirements of theuser.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 4, the axis of rotation of theroller 16 may be adjustable, where grooves 18 may be provided to permitadjustment of this axis. A lock (not shown, but may take various formsas may be contemplated by one skilled in the art) may be provided to fixthe axis of rotation. In some embodiments, the roller 16 may be designedto pivot within the grooves 18, allowing the axis of rotation of theroller 16 to vary during use.

The roller 16 may rotate on a shaft 20. Bearings, or other similarstructure, may be used to connect the shaft 20 of the roller 16 to thebottom of the board member 10. Examples of such connections arediscussed in greater detail below.

The roller 16 may extend completely below the board member 10, or may beembedded partially within the board member 10. FIG. 2 shows a side viewwhere the roller 16 is embedded in the board member 10. In thisembodiment, the roller 16 extends below a plane defined by the bottom ofthe board member 10.

In some embodiments, a guard 22 or cover may be disposed on the top side24 of the board so that the roller 16 is not accessible from the topside 24 of the board member 10. This guard 22 may be a separate element,attached to the board member 10, or may be simply a top portion of theboard member 10. In other words, the roller 16 may be disposed in anindentation formed in (but not through) the board member 10, or may bedisposed in a slot formed through the board member 10.

While FIGS. 1-4 show a single roller 16, referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6,multiple rollers 16 may be disposed, generally side-by-side and parallelto one another, along the bottom of the board member 10. In thisembodiment, multiple rollers 16 may help improve balance for the user ascompared to a single roller. The wheels or rollers could be in one lineon one axle, or could possibly be hung each independently by struts orbogeys, for example. Examples of such connections are described below.

The roller 16 may be formed as a linear member along its axis ofrotation, with its axis of rotation generally parallel to a planedefined by the bottom of the board member. However, in some embodiments,the roller may be sloped forward, sloped backwards, or sloped toward acenter thereof. In this latter embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, a roller16A may slope toward the center thereof. This design may help keep theskateboard moving along a rail, for example, urging the rail-to-rollercontact point toward a longitudinal center of the roller 16A.

The roller 16 may be formed from a solid, unitary, integral member, asshown in FIGS. 1-6, or, as shown in FIG. 10, a roller 16B may be formedfrom a plurality of smaller rollers 16C disposed along an axle 26.

The skateboard of the present invention may include brakes 28 on thelongitudinal sides of the roller 16. The brakes 28 may be formed asportions of the board member that extend down and away from the bottomplane of the board. The brakes 28 may take various shapes and theFigures show one possible embodiment for the shape thereof.

The skateboard of the present invention may further include one or moreskid plates 30, typically two skid plates 30 located at the front andrear of the shaft 20 of the roller 16. The skid plates 30 may helpprevent contact to the front and rear side portions of the roller 16,the bearings, and the like. The skid plates 30 may take various shapesand the Figures show one possible embodiment for the shape thereof.Where the roller may pivot, as shown in the embodiment of FIG. 4, theskid plates 30 may extend across a longer width of the board as comparedto the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3, as the ends of the roller may bedisposed at various locations along the width of the board member 10.Similarly, when multiple rollers 16 are present, the skid plates 30 maybe wider than when a single roller 16 is present.

In some embodiments, an adjustable friction element (not shown) may bedisposed to provide friction against free rotation of the roller. Atmaximum friction, the roller may not rotate and may simply provide asurface for a grinding maneuver. In some embodiments, a user may desireto adjust the rotation resistance of the roller to help provide controlor slow down certain maneuvers.

The rollers 16 (while two rollers are shown, a single roller may beconnected in a similar manner) may attach to the bottom of the boardmember 10 in various manners. One example of such attachment isdescribed with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. A mounting bracket 34 canattach to the bottom of the board member 10 in various manners, such aswith bolts. The mounting bracket 34 may be generally L-shaped with oneportion of the L-shape extending toward a supporting surface when theskateboard is supported by the supporting surface by its wheels 12 (in anormal operating position). The depending portion 36 of the mountingbracket 34 may have a hole 38 for mounting the roller 16 thereto. Themounting bracket 34 may be disposed at opposing ends of the boardmember, with the roller(s) 16 disposed therebetween. The length of thedepending portion 36 and the position of the hole 38 may be determinedby, for example, the height of the board member 10 and the diameter ofthe roller(s) 16. These elements may be arranged so that the roller(s)16 do not interfere with the normal operation of the board but so thatthe roller(s) 16 may rotate under the board when certain maneuvers areperformed.

The roller 16 may be mounted on its shaft 20. A bushing 40 may fit intothe hole 38 and the shaft 20 may fit into the bushing 40. A washer 42may be disposed between the roller 16 and the mounting bracket 34. Ofcourse, other configurations, as may be contemplated by one skilled inthe art, may be used for mounting the roller(s) 16 on the bottom surfaceof the board member 10.

Referring now to FIG. 8, in some embodiments, a mounting bracket 44 maybe configured to mount onto an existing truck board mounting bolt 46.The mounting bracket 44 may include a one hole (not shown) to receivethe truck board mounting bolt 46 and another hole 48 for receiving theroller 16. The roller 16 may be received into the hole 48 in a mannersimilar of that described above with respect to FIGS. 6 and 7, or byanother manner as may be contemplated by one skilled in the art.

To attach the mounting bracket 44, one can simply remove a nut from thetruck board mounting bolt 46 insert the one hole of the mounting bracket44 and re-attach the nut to secure the mounting bracket 44 onto thetruck board mounting bolt 46. When two rollers are used, a mountingbracket 44 may attach to each truck board mounting bolt 46 on one sideof the truck 12. When a single roller is used, one mounting bracket 44may be used on each the front and rear trucks, or a mounting bracket maybe designed to attach to two adjacent truck board mounting bolts 46 ofeach trunk 12 and have its hole 48 centered therebetween, resulting inthe single roller to be centered across the width of the board member10.

In some embodiments, instead of mounting on the truck board mountingbolt, a mounting bracket can be formed integrally with the wheel truck12. In this embodiment, the result may be a mounting hole for receivingone or more rollers formed integrally, as a single component, with thetruck so that no additional parts are needed for installation of theroller.

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates toexemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as setforth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A skateboard comprising: a board member; frontand rear trucks attached to a bottom side of the board member; at leastone wheel disposed on each of the front and rear trucks, the at leastone wheel adapted to move the board member in a first direction, thefirst direction generally along a longitudinal axis of the board member;and at least one roller disposed between the front and rear trucks, theat least one roller having an axis of rotation disposed at an angle tothe first direction, the angle being from about 75 to about 105 degrees.2. The skateboard of claim 1, wherein the angle is about 90 degrees. 3.The skateboard of claim 1, wherein the at least one roller is one rollerdisposed centrally along a width of the board member.
 4. The skateboardof claim 1, wherein the at least one roller is two or more rollers. 5.The skateboard of claim 1, wherein the at least one roller is formedfrom a plurality of individual rollers disposed side-by-side along theaxis of rotation.
 6. The skateboard of claim 1, further comprisingbrakes disposed on the bottom side of the board member.
 7. Theskateboard of claim 6, wherein the brakes are formed from raised memberson opposite sides of the at least one roller.
 8. The skateboard of claim1, further comprising skid plates disposed at opposite ends of the atleast one roller.
 9. The skateboard of claim 1, wherein the angle isfixed.
 10. The skateboard of claim 1, wherein the angle is adjustable.11. The skateboard of claim 1, wherein the at least one roller isdisposed below the bottom side of the board member.
 12. The skateboardof claim 1, wherein the at least one roller is disposed partially withinan indent formed in the bottom side of the board member.
 13. Theskateboard of claim 1, further comprising front and rear mounting platesdisposed at opposite ends of the board member, the mounting plateshaving at least one hole to receive the at least one roller therein. 14.The skateboard of claim 13, wherein the front and rear mounting platesare L-shaped members attached to the bottom side of the board member.15. The skateboard of claim 13, wherein the front and rear mountingplates attach to truck board mounting bolts of the skateboard.
 16. Theskateboard of claim 13, further comprising a bushing fitting into the atleast one hole, the bushing receiving a shaft of the at least oneroller.
 17. The skateboard of claim 1, wherein the at least one rollerhas a taper along its length.
 18. The skateboard of claim 17, whereinthe taper is toward a center of the length of the at least one roller.19. A skateboard comprising: a board member; front and rear trucksattached to a bottom side of the board member; at least one wheeldisposed on each of the front and rear trucks, the at least one wheeladapted to move the board member in a first direction, the firstdirection generally along a longitudinal axis of the board member; atleast one roller disposed between the front and rear trucks, the atleast one roller having an axis of rotation disposed generallyorthogonal to the first direction; brakes disposed on the bottom side ofthe board member; and skid plates disposed at opposite ends of the atleast one roller.
 20. The skateboard of claim 19, wherein the at leastone roller is two or more rollers.